California Film Commissioner Colleen Bell says the state’s expanded production tax incentive is intended to protect and grow entertainment employment as film and television production in Los Angeles declines. Speaking on Variety’s “Strictly Business” podcast, she argued that public policy must adapt to keep productions and skilled workers in California amid intense competition from other locations.

California increased the annual incentive programme from $330 million to $750 million, with the expansion becoming law a year earlier following lobbying and coalition-building by the Newsom administration. The commission says each dollar of tax credit generates $24.40 in economic activity, while additional incentives encourage filming outside the Thirty Mile Zone; Bell said the programme now has stronger bipartisan backing.